Leading the Household Energy Storage Market with Strong Chinese Presence

Hailing from Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, Yuan Hongliang resigned from a Fortune Global 500 company at the age of 33 to establish Voltai Power upon returning to China.

Voltai Power commenced its journey from overseas markets and, at the opportune moment of rapid growth in the new energy sector, ventured into the Chinese lithium battery energy storage market.

Compared to predecessors from the 1960s, such as Chairman Cao Renxian of Suntech Power and Chairman Wei Zaisheng of Pylon Technologies, Yuan Hongliang, born in the late 1970s, is considered formidable in the energy storage industry. By his early 40s, he led Voltai Power in preparing for a Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market) IPO.

Yuan Hongliang holds approximately 32% of Voltai Power's shares, with a direct ownership of 16.8%. Indirectly, he holds around 15.2% through three holding platforms: Nantong Qingneng, Nantong Qianhong, and Nantong Wanze.

As per estimations from relevant agencies, Voltai Power's valuation has reached 4 billion yuan. If the company successfully goes public, Yuan Hongliang's net worth is poised to exceed 1 billion yuan, making him another billionaire in the energy storage industry.

According to the prospectus, Voltai Power achieved a revenue of 686 million yuan and a net profit of 49.0841 million yuan from January to June 2022, with household energy storage systems and components accounting for 91.67% of the total. Presently, Voltai Power's STAR Market IPO review status has been changed to 'under inquiry.'

In 2023, Voltai Power is aiming for a 1 billion yuan revenue target.

Resigning from a Fortune Global 500 company, Yuan's energy storage dream begins.

Born in 1979 in Jiangsu's Huai'an, Yuan Hongliang enrolled in the marketing department of Nankai University's Business School in 1997. After completing his undergraduate degree, he pursued a master's in electronic automation at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. In 2008, Yuan obtained his master's degree along with the Bavarian Outstanding Student Scholarship.

During his stay in Germany, Yuan Hongliang worked as a Global Headquarters Engineer at Siemens and gained professional experience at world-class energy companies like Atawatt and Spain's Fornet Group, serving as the Director of New Energy Development at Fire Energy S.L.

In August 2012, Yuan Hongliang, a technical executive at a Fortune Global 500 company, along with two fellow classmates, Wang Jun and Zhang Xinyan, returned to China to start their own business.

His opportunity in new energy emerged when he witnessed Shi Zhengrong becoming China's richest man within five years of returning from Australia to engage in the solar energy industry.

Yuan Hongliang believed that with the increasing significance of new energy in China's energy structure, its rapid development would have a profound impact on the power grid. The intermittency and unpredictability of this energy would necessitate energy storage. Hence, they chose the energy storage track.

After evaluating multiple locations, Yuan Hongliang ultimately selected Tongzhou District in Nantong, Jiangsu, as the starting point for his entrepreneurial dream.

With the support of the district's talent office, the company received nearly 20 million yuan in funding from provincial 'Double Innovation Plan' teams, Nantong's 'Jianghai Talent Plan,' and Tongzhou District's '510 Talent Plan,' resolving initial funding challenges for Voltai Power Nantong Co., Ltd.

Establishing 8 subsidiary companies abroad by delving into household energy storage demand locations.

Whether in terms of new energy generation demand or economic assessment, targeting overseas markets initially was the optimal choice.

The business logic of household energy storage systems posits that using one's own household energy storage device is cheaper and more stable for users than relying entirely on national electricity.

Local user electricity prices and irradiance conditions serve as metrics for the solar-storage market's stability.

Germany's average residential electricity price ranks second among surveyed countries, just behind Denmark, reaching $0.429 per kWh. Therefore, Yuan Hongliang set his sights on countries with higher global electricity prices like Australia, Germany, and the United States.

The extensive demand for new energy generation in these areas brought significant economic returns for Voltai Power.

Voltai Power's household energy storage system is an energy storage and management device that connects to photovoltaics and the grid. It uses innovative liquid cooling technology, enabling quick cooling and excellent temperature uniformity. The battery module employs a rapid rear-insertion solution for efficient installation and maintenance. It supports 30ms automatic on/off-grid switching. The 30kW rear-insertion wind-cooled outdoor cabinet has high internal integration, strong environmental adaptability, and is user-friendly.

The company has developed and produced energy storage systems ranging from 1kW, 3kW, 5kW, 10kW, 50kW, 100kW, MW-level to hundreds of MW-levels.

Due to foreigners' inherent trust in local companies, Voltai Power established a wholly-owned German subsidiary, with the Chinese headquarters providing technical and financial support.

In 2015, Voltai Power established its Sydney branch, capturing an 18% market share in Australia that year. In 2018, the South Australian government announced Voltai Power as one of the two major suppliers of household energy storage systems and granted government subsidies.
 

As of now, Voltai Power has established 8 wholly-owned subsidiaries in Germany, Australia, Italy, the UK, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

Back then, almost one out of every three households in South Australia installed solar energy systems. Driven by policy and market forces, Voltai Power has established a strong brand presence in Australia.

To date, Voltai Power's customers span nearly all Southeast Asian countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, among many others, expanding business to 83 countries and regions.

China shifting focus, locally battling lithium battery energy storage.

With the rise of new energy industries, China has become the world's largest market for new energy vehicle production and sales.

Yuan Hongliang entered the Chinese market at the perfect time, becoming a trailblazer in China's lithium battery energy storage market.

In 2016, Voltai Power's Beijing subsidiary was established, and during the same year, it received investments from Shi Zhengrong, the founder of Suntech Power, and Guoxuan High-Tech's stake.

Following this, heavyweight enterprises and investment institutions appeared successively in Voltai Power's shareholder list.

Listed companies and national team members such as Hanwha Group, Capital Science and Technology Group, National Aviation Industry Fund, and China General Nuclear Power Corporation became its shareholders. Leading VC fund Hillhouse Capital invested twice, ranking as the company's seventh-largest shareholder.

In 2019, Voltai Power and HT-SAAE Group jointly established HT Voltai Energy Storage, venturing into large-scale energy storage, microgrids, and comprehensive energy services markets. This marked Voltai Power's comprehensive layout in the energy storage field, no longer solely focusing on household energy storage.

Since its inception, the company's business has expanded to over 70 countries and regions, accounting for nearly 20% of the global market share. Several technologies have broken international monopolies. It is the only Chinese company to enter the top ten of the World Energy Storage Awards' EES, and ranked in the top 5 on the '2020 Global Household Energy Storage Market Share List.'

Presently, Voltai Power's revenue share from household energy storage systems and components exceeds 80%, constituting a significant revenue source for the company, whereas industrial and commercial energy storage products contribute relatively less to revenue share.

According to institutional data, in the global household energy storage system domain, Voltai Power ranks fourth in China and sixth globally in terms of shipping capacity for 2021.

The company has completed pre-IPO financing, attracting renowned strategic venture capitalists like NIO Capital, CMB International, Hillhouse Capital, and others. Currently, Voltai Power's review status for its Science and Technology Innovation Board IPO has been changed to 'under inquiry.'"